Dick Butkus to testify next week on HGH testing in the NFL

By Pete Kasperowicz - 12/07/12 11:50 AM ET

Dick Butkus, the Hall of Fame linebacker who played for the Chicago Bears in the 1960s and 1970s, will testify in the House Oversight & Government Reform Committee next week on the issue of whether and how National Football League players should be tested for human growth hormones (HGH).

Butkus leads Play Clean, a group aimed at encouraging high school students to resist taking steroids and performance-enhancing drugs. Butkus will join officials from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, the National Institutes of Health, and others at the Wednesday House hearing.

The NFL and the NFL Players Association agreed in 2011 to allow HGH testing, but the two sides have been unable to agree on how that testing will be conducted. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said last month that there is still no agreement on testing, but said he was hopeful for a breakthrough over the coming weeks.

Back in July, members of the House Energy & Commerce Committee wrote to Goodell and the Players Association urging both sides to reach an agreement. That letter also charged that the Players Association "continues to publicly challenge the efficacy of the test itself."

"These challenges are inexplicable because the blood test for HGH has been in use for almost a decade," they wrote. "Today it is used by numerous domestic and international leagues and sports associations, including the Olympic Games and Major League Baseball."

The letter also asked for assurances that HGH testing would begin at the start of the 2012 season, which didn't happen.

The Oversight & Government Reform is just one of several hearings the House has planned for next week. Full details follow here:

House Agriculture

Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management

Dec. 13, "Dodd-Frank Derivatives Reform: Challenges Facing U.S. and International Markets"
     9 a.m., 1300 Longworth House Office Building

House Energy & Commerce

Subcommittee on Communications and Technology

Dec. 12, "Keeping the New Broadband Spectrum Law on Track," FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski testifies
     10 a.m., 2123 Rayburn House Office Building

Subcommittee on Health

Dec. 13, "State of Uncertainty: Implementation of PPACA's Exchanges and Medicaid Expansion"
     10 a.m., 2123 Rayburn House Office Building

House Financial Services

Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises

Dec. 12, "Challenges Facing the U.S. Capital Markets to Effectively Implement Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Act"
     10 a.m., 2128 Rayburn House Office Building

Full Committee

Dec. 13, "Examining the Impact of the Volcker Rule on Markets, Businesses, Investors and Job Creation, Part II"
     9 a.m., 2128 Rayburn House Office Building

House Foreign Affairs

Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights

Dec. 11, "The Devastating Crisis in Eastern Congo"
     3 p.m., 2172 Rayburn House Office Building

House Oversight & Government Reform

Dec. 12, "HGH Testing in the NFL: Is the Science Ready?" NFL Hall of Famer Dick Butkus testifies
     10 a.m., 2154 Rayburn House Office Building

House Science, Space, and Technology

Dec. 12, "The Future of NASA: Perspectives on Strategic Vision for America's Space Program"
     9:30 a.m., 2318 Rayburn House Office Building

House Transportation & Infrastructure

Dec. 13, "Northeast Corridor Future: Options for High-Speed Rail Development and Opportunities for Private Sector Participation"
     10 a.m., 2167 Rayburn House Office Building